The ability to perform comprehensive network discovery to identify everything on your network is vital. You need to discover all your network devices and ensure that all valuable assets that represent a cost to the business are identified. This is necessary in understanding potential compliance risks due to software licensing issues and is a crucial first step in establishing your SAM process, if an accurate position on your software licensing is ever to be attained.

Without this 100% discovery, your inventory and any subsequent SAM work are compromised. We have spoken to organizations who tell us that they are 100% discovered. But, when we ask how they can be so sure, their reply is that it is more of a gut feel! Furthermore, when we apply our technology to their network and perform an advanced network discovery (not just an inventory of already known devices), we discover that their visibility can be as low as 80% of the true estate.

This carries implications from security to software licensing exposure and the haemorrhaging value of business assets. Its major cause is using a discovery tool that only discovers in one way, let me explain.

SOURCE: certero.com